Manisha Raju was an avid reader and listener. While growing up in Nagpur, she was surrounded by stories and books. “I loved listening to the Raja Rani kind of stories, mythological and even historical tales. Anything about tradition, culture, heritage of India, evolution of women characters and their journey always impressed me,” she shares. This interest transformed on the canvas when she moved to Chennai. And, with an artist husband and her inquisitive nature to seek the self, her artistic journey began, albeit a little late.
The Chennai-based artist, who is currently displaying her works at a solo exhibition at Gallery Café is not new to Hyderabad. She displayed her works at Ailamma Art Gallery in 2014. The 14 portraits on display at the Café is a series on women and the female energy.
“Mostly my works are dedicated to the goddess. Then there are also those epic women Gargi, Maitreyi and other characters and I worked on them,” she shares.
In vibrant colours, the same woman has been portrayed in all the canvases; she sports a big bindi and tilak and has eyes closed depicting the meditating mode. Her series of works are based on a concept and self dialogue. “People are occupied with many things mentally and physically in time and space especially in the current scenario. I find it a constraint and I wonder if we really have the time to converse with the self; do we get into ourselves and try to understand ourselves and our needs.”
Sharing more insights she states this phenomena is an universal one. “When we are doing something, I wonder if we are limiting ourselves or limiting what we are doing. These questions trigger thoughts and I work on self interaction. Although it is a personal experience, these are seen across the globe. It is the need of the soul. Every individual in some way or the other feels the need to talk to oneself.”
Although she began painting since ’98’, she didn’t display her works till 2004. She calls it a gestational period to understand the grammar of art. “Fortunately since my husband is also an artist, interactions with him helped me and metaphysically moulded me. Since I have not studied art academically, I wanted to understand its elements and principles. I wanted to know various mediums and through them understand what art is, how it influences others and why artists have certain kind of artwork or the forms and colours that one uses,” she explains.
She has worked on a series on Navagrahas and all forms of Durga and is currently working on a series on Lakshmi. “I would like to explore the Maharanis of India,” she reveals .
The exhibition at Gallery Café concludes on November 10.